Breaking into your home is a scary experience, but there are a few things you can do to keep a burglar from even thinking about approaching your home.
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Burglars choose houses that are easy targets. I always like to say that to keep burglars away from your house, the best thing you can do is make it a less attractive target than your neighbor’s house. You don’t have to get ahead of the bear; just the people around you. And making your home less attractive to burglars can be pretty easy to do, depending on your area. Here are some ideas.
Turn on outside lights
Burglars don’t like to be seen, and if breaking into a house means they’ll be flooded with light, they may freeze and look for a darker house.
You can use motion-controlled floodlights near entry points around your home, or simply keep your porch on from dawn to dusk.
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You can even set this up so that your outdoor lights automatically turn on whenever it’s dark using any combination from the SmartHome kit, but a basic motion-sensing outdoor spotlight (or even ambient light) would work just fine most of the time.
Randomize your inner lights
It’s safe to say that burglars won’t break into a house if even from a distance it looks like someone might be home, so the occasional illumination of interior lights can create this illusion.
Most smart bulbs come with this feature, which allows you to program lights to turn on and off at random times. You can also just buy a cheap basic timer, but the downside to this is that your lights will turn on and off at the same time every day — a burglar can easily catch up with this if they cover your house.
Of course, working with lights goes that far. After all, most thefts happen during the day on weekdays, when people are less likely to be at home.
advertise alarm system
Having an alarm system is better than nothing, but it’s not the holy grail of home security, especially if the burglar doesn’t know you have an alarm system at all. That’s why just having a sticker that says you have an alarm system can be a good enough deterrent.
The 24/7 professional monitoring that comes with most alarm systems can provide peace of mind, but it’s not worth it most of the time. Response time from the police is usually quite slow (especially in busy areas) and you also need to consider the time it takes the alarm company to call you to make sure it’s a false alarm, decide it’s not, and then call police.
Most burglars will be in and out before the police arrive. And while the alarm may scare them away, it cannot stop them from quickly grabbing what they can before they jump up and down.
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This is why the simple act of advertising an alarm system is usually more effective than actually having an alarm. Of course, they may think that you are bluffing. But why take the risk if there are no identical stickers in the neighboring houses?
Set up a security camera
If there is one thing robbers absolutely want to avoid at all costs, it is identified. This fact makes security cameras one of the best security devices you can buy.
There are a couple of different ways to do this, such as getting a fully wired security system that records 24 hours a day, or getting a Wi-Fi camera that’s easy to set up and only records when motion is detected.
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Whatever you choose, install it in a location that is easy for would-be burglars to see if they come to your home. At this point, they won’t be right there.
Get a big dog (or at least let’s say you have one)
If you don’t already have one, a large dog can be a great burglar deterrent. If you don’t have (or don’t want) a dog, you can at least get one of these «Beware of Dogs» signs.
Of course, as with alarm systems, having a dog isn’t the best answer to keeping all burglars out for good, but having a big dog definitely helps. But even having a warning sign and maybe even a dog bowl sitting on the back porch can make burglars think twice and not take risks.
Remember the game we play here. Create obstacles that will make your house more of a challenge.
Keep the robbers in your life
Hmm, why would I be friends with a burglar? However, often you may not even be aware of it. It could be that sucky guy down the street, a drug addict relative, or just each other. The truth is that about 65% of burglaries are perpetrated by people who somehow know the victim.
That’s why it’s important not to overtly advertise on Facebook when you’re going on vacation. Or, if you do, at least audit your friends list and keep track of your privacy settings.
Shut your damn doors!
It seems obvious, but I’m always shocked by the number of people I know who never lock their doors.
The reasons are usually related to living in a village or living in a small town in a safe area, but it only takes a robber once to break into you to reconsider the lock situation.
Of course, locking your doors can’t stop a burglar, as that’s not the only way into the house. But this is another deterrent standing in the way.
On a similar topic, keep garage doors and windows closed, especially when you’re not at home. Both provide exceptionally easy entry points into your home.
